Parallel Lies Chapter 05
Amy stared at the few words on the screen. Her lips trembled. “I-Is that you, Rose?”
The screen flashed with new messages.
[Amelia is not a vessel. She’s a person! She is hurt!]
Roger’s expression froze. Caelan stared at me.
I remained standing before them and the imaginary camera, the practiced smile still stretched across my aching cheeks.
Amy cradled her phone as if it were a baby. “Don’t say that! I just miss you so much, Rose. I’ve been waiting for you for so many years!”
[I told you when I was a child. I’m sensitive to light and sound. I’m sensitive to touch.]
Amy’s sobs stopped abruptly. Roger’s finger curled.
[The doctor told you, didn’t she? I’m on the autistic spectrum. I have sensory issues. And yet you convinced yourself I was just a wild, difficult child.]
Silence settled over the living room.
Tears still clung to Amy’s face as confusion spread across her features. “What are you talking about, Rose? You were just… opinionated.”
A chill crawled up my spine.
Ever since I was little, Amy had always told me Rosamund had been a quiet, obedient, trouble-free child. Yet in so many of the home videos she made me watch, Rosamund was hiding beneath the table with her hands clamped over her ears. Amy always skipped past those scenes as quickly as she could.
The countdown timer appeared on the screen.
Ten seconds remained.
Amy snapped out of her daze and turned to me in panic. “Stand still, Amelia!”
Roger lunged forward and seized my arms. “Don’t move a muscle. We don’t want anything to complicate the Replacement!”
I lowered my gaze to their hands wrapped around my arms. I couldn’t help noticing how cold they were.
“Don’t go, Amelia,” Caelan said suddenly, his voice hoarse.
His eyes were red and glassy, yet he made no move to pull me free from their grasp.
Three seconds remained.
Cold crept up from my feet. It felt as though someone was dragging me into icy, bottomless water.
Amy called out to Rosamund while Caelan called my name. Their voices collided, but neither of them caught me as I fell.
White light swallowed me, and I smelled a faint scent of antiseptic.
I opened my eyes.
A woman sat beside my bed, her eyes red and swollen.
The moment she saw I was awake, she stepped back. “Don’t be scared, Amelia. I won’t touch you.”
A man stood by the door holding a tiffin carrier. Tears streamed down his face. “Have some potato soup, sweetie. No garlic, no cheese. The doctor said you should have something warm and filling after you woke up.”
I stared at them in disbelief as the woman set a glass of water on my bedside table.
“You don’t have to speak if you’re not ready, dear. We can wait.”
Warm tears welled in my eyes.
Outside the door, a nurse spoke in a gentle voice. She said all my vitals were normal. I was simply in shock.
The woman nodded and whispered, “Alright. Then we’ll be quiet.”
The blinding white light faded.
Rosamund Silverstone stood there with her hands clamped tightly over her ears. She was shaking like a
leaf.
Amy threw herself toward her, sobbing. “Rose, my dear!”
Rosamund let out a piercing scream and stumbled backward. She knocked over the cake, sending the candles flying.
She retreated until her back hit the wall, her breath coming in frantic gasps. “Don’t touch me! It’s too bright! You’re too loud!”
Amy froze.
Rosamund lifted her head, her eyes red. “Where’s Amelia? Where’s my sister? What have you people done to her?”
